Recent Arrests Bring a Sense of Betrayal in Israel

JERUSALEM —  Two high-profile arrests involving groups of alleged extremists in as many weeks have sparked a nationwide debate in Israel on “the enemy within,” how far democratic rights extend and whether Arabs living in and on the periphery of the state can be trusted.

What’s hit the collective nerve and evoked feelings of betrayal among many Israelis was the news that Palestinians holding Israeli identity cards and Israeli Arabs were among the suspects in several deadly attacks. The fact that the Palestinians have many of the same benefits as Israelis and were relatively free to move around the country has left people feeling abused and uneasy.

“Israeli Arabs want all the rights but don’t contribute to society,” said Moty Asor, a 43-year-old accountant living in Jerusalem. “It’s a big problem.”

Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security service, last week said authorities had arrested five people alleged to be members of a Hamas cell based in East Jerusalem that is accused of carrying out several deadly attacks inside Israel’s borders, including the Hebrew University bombing in July that killed five Americans and four Israelis, and a pool hall attack near Tel Aviv in May that killed 15 as well as the bomber.

And this week, police announced the arrest of seven people accused of helping a suicide bomber blow up a bus at Meron junction in northern Israel on Aug. 4, killing nine people and wounding 48.

The first case involved East Jerusalem Palestinians, part of a community with permanent residency status giving them the right to vote in local elections and, at least in theory, move freely throughout Israel. The second group was made up of Israeli Arabs with citizenship, allowing them to have Israeli passports, full voting rights and many other benefits afforded Israeli Jews.

“We are in a state of war,” said Elie Rekhess, a senior research fellow with Tel Aviv University. “Undoubtedly [these arrests] deepen alienation, suspicion and rage.”

In a land where guilt by association often comes naturally and trust was among the first victims of the 2-year-old Palestinian uprising, the discovery of these two groups of suspects has increased calls to suspend the rights of Israeli Arabs and even to usher all Arabs out of the country.

“No Arabs, No Terror,” reads one increasingly common bumper sticker.

Other events have fed the concern of Israelis. One news item Wednesday was the arrest of two Israeli Arabs accused of knowingly providing a ride for a suicide bomber. The other was the indictment this month of an Israeli Arab who was riding the Meron junction bus and failed to warn fellow passengers after the bomber told her to get off.

According to a poll released Friday by Maariv newspaper, 72% of Israeli Jews believe that Israeli Arabs constitute a risk to state security. Even among those who identified themselves as left-wing voters, 58% feel threatened.

“I hate myself,” said Tali Alon, a 35-year-old worker in the hotel industry. “I have many Arab friends. They have the same rights we do. And politically, both sides are to blame for this mess we’re in. But still I find myself getting suspicious when young Palestinians are coming down the street.”

Adding to the chorus calling for tougher measures, Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, the army’s chief of staff, on Sunday warned of the “cancerous threat” presented by Palestinians in the region. The daily Yediot Aharonot raised similar concerns under the headline “Sleeping With the Enemy.” And residents of the Jewish settlement of Efrat called for a ban on all Arab workers.

Even worse, some argue, are Israeli human rights groups that defend Palestinians. “They work to enable greater activity and greater freedom for the organized crime of Palestinian terror,” columnist Amnon Lord wrote in Yediot Aharonot.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Supreme Court is hearing a closely watched case in which family members of alleged terrorists are facing deportation as a deterrent, though the relatives are not accused of doing anything.

Amid the tension, however, alternative voices, including those of Israeli President Moshe Katzav and Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, have countered that legitimate security concerns must be kept in perspective. They argue that a handful of arrests--even of people who might be backed, for argument’s sake, by a few thousand hard-core sympathizers--represent a minuscule portion of the 1.2 million Israeli Arabs living in the country and the 200,000 Palestinians with East Jerusalem ID privileges.

“We must not generalize and besmirch a whole population where a minority is concerned,” Ben-Eliezer said. “Ganging up on the Arab population is not justified.”

The increasingly tense atmosphere has heightened fears among many Palestinians living legally in Israel and East Jerusalem of a backlash.

“Since they made the arrests last week, Israeli police have become much more harsh with us; more checkpoints, more harassment, more use of tax collectors, more suspicion,” said Asharaf Salimah, a 25-year-old East Jerusalem resident working at a bus depot. “We have an expression that every finger is different. But they catch one Hamas group and treat us all like criminals.”

Mariam, a 57-year-old East Jerusalem homemaker who declined to give her last name, said she fears Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon may try to exile all Arabs, even though many were born in Jerusalem and have lived here all their lives. “Once the U.S. hits Iraq, I’m just afraid he’ll use that as an excuse to expel us all to Jordan,” she said.

But Hillel Frisch, senior researcher with the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, a think tank, denies any punitive intent on the part of Israel’s military or police.

“I don’t believe there’s anything vindictive or any element of punishment in the security measures,” he said. “I’m discomforted all the time as well, even though I’m a Jew.”

In many ways, Israeli Arabs and Jerusalem Palestinians are caught in the middle. Even as they come under suspicion from Israeli Jews, they are not completely accepted by Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where the average income has dropped to about $2 a day in large part because of military restrictions.

“It can be a bit of a struggle-struggle situation in psychological terms,” said Mohammed abu Khalaif, 32-year-old manager of a dry-goods store in East Jerusalem and holder of a Jerusalem ID card. “Sometimes you don’t know who you’re with.”

Israeli Arabs and Jerusalem Palestinians sometimes find themselves the object of jealousy because their credentials give them better access to social security and health insurance, along with more mobility to pursue employment. They are accused of selling out, lulled by Israel’s better standard of living, and of not showing enough commitment to the goal of Palestinian statehood.

Ali Jirbawi, a political science professor at Birzeit University in the West Bank, argues that Israel has fanned these differences under a divide-and-conquer strategy.

“The differences come down to a question of how much control people are allowed over their own destiny and how much they’re able to move around,” Jirbawi said. “Israeli Arabs may have 70% control over their lives these days, Jerusalem Palestinians maybe 40%, West Bank and Gazaites almost nil.”

Israeli Arabs and Jerusalem Palestinians, for their part, counter that jealousy by West Bank and Gazan Palestinians fails to take into account the higher taxes and insurance premiums they must pay for social benefits. And they say they are working for change in their own way.

“The law will eventually provide a way to change Israel,” said Waseem Darwsheh, an Israeli Arab who says he exercises his right to vote as a means of challenging injustice.

Israeli Jews and Arabs alike say they’ve seen similar periods of deep distrust as extremists on both sides drown out moderate voices. They express hope that eventually the parties will return to the negotiating table.

“I work with Arabs, they’re my neighbors at home,” said Judith Gait, a radio announcer from Jerusalem. “The vast majority denounce terror. It’s the politicians, the big people on both sides, who have destroyed peace.”

“If they leave it to the people,” she added, “people to people, things will work out.”